U.S. House Proposal Would Unravel the Antiquities Act

The Ongoing Assault on the Antiquities Act
….when it comes to the ongoing assault on the Antiquities Act of 1906, Zinke’s national monument review is merely an opening salvo. Tucked away at the very end of the leaked memo, after all, one finds this portentous sentence: “[It] is also recommended that you request that Congress clarify the limits of Executive power under the Act and the intent of Congress pertaining to land use when a monument is placed over another other [sic] Federal land-use designation.” In his recommendations, then, Zinke isn’t simply calling on Trump to unilaterally shrink national monuments and weaken protections on hundreds of thousands of acres of public land. He is also exhorting the president to team up with Congress to undermine the Antiquities Act itself. And, indeed, a legislative assault on the law is already underway. http://bit.ly/2yqrck4 – Pacific Standard

House Bill to Gut the Antiquites Act Passes Natural Resources Committee
The House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday advanced legislation to severely limit a president’s authority to name new national monuments while essentially killing Democrats’ request for more transparency in President Donald Trump’s review of monument designations in the last 21 years. The bill, approved by the committee on a party-line vote and sponsored by its chairman, Rep. Rob Bishop of Utah, would curtail use of the 1906 Antiquities Act that gives presidents power to name monuments. http://bit.ly/2yqxaBc – Salt Lake Tribune

Editorial – The Antiquities Act Is an Antique
Trump’s national monument review and the decisions that will come from it are excellent opportunities to evaluate how much power the president has under the Antiquities Act and analyze when and why he uses that power. When a presidential administration uses the Antiquities Act as a political tool for legacy building, it undermines the rule of law and the prudent use of presidential authority. It may be time to retire the Antiquities Act and allow Congress to fulfill its constitutional duty of managing federal lands. http://bit.ly/2yqBocl – Deseret News

The United States Withdraws from UNESCO
The United States will withdraw from UNESCO at the end of next year, the State Department said Thursday, to stop accumulating unpaid dues and make a stand on what it said is anti-Israel bias at the U.N.’s educational, science and cultural organization. In notifying UNESCO of the decision Thursday morning, the State Department said it would like to remain involved as a nonmember observer state. That will allow the United States to engage in debates and activities, though it will lose its right to vote on issues. http://wapo.st/2ypNH8v – Washington Post

Conservation Lands Foundation’s Letter Regarding Threat to the Antiquities Act
On behalf of the Conservation Lands Foundation, I write to express our strong opposition to H.R. 3990, which is a radical, aggressive legislative attack on the Antiquities Act, the law that allows for the protection of our most iconic national parks and monuments. Since its enactment in 1906, the Antiquities Act has been one of our nation’s most critical conservation tools for preserving our nation’s most important public lands and waters. Our national monuments, national parks, and other protected public lands and waters unite all Americans by protecting our shared heritage for future generations to enjoy. The sheer diversity of historic, cultural, and natural treasures that have been protected by the Antiquities Act is the reason why hundreds of groups representing sportsmen, cultural heritage organizations, communities of faith, conservation, small businesses, historic preservation, and many others all oppose efforts to undermine this vital law. http://bit.ly/2ypO4zV – PDF file via Conservation Lands Foundation

Chaco Canyon – Culture under Siege
Less than nine months after a highly controversial oil and gas lease sale, Chaco Canyon is under attack again. Last month, the Farmington BLM Office announced an open comment period on 25 proposed gas and oil leases in Northwest New Mexico totaling more than 4,400 acres – including eight parcels comprising 1,850 acres within 20 miles of the park. At least one of the parcels is immediately adjacent to the 10-mile buffer around the park, with several more within a few miles. http://bit.ly/2yquHqo – Durango Telegraph

Archaeology Southwest’s Book Sale Is in Full Swing
We’re cleaning house! Purchase over 40 Archaeology Southwest and Desert Archaeology, Inc. publications for only $1.00 each (plus shipping), now through November 15, 2017 in our online bookstore: www.archaeologysouthwest.org/booksale

Southwest Symposium Website Now Live
Boundaries are lines that make and mark spatial distinctions. Archaeologically, they are used to separate time periods as well. Being held for the first time in Denver, Colorado, January 4-7, 2018, the theme of the 16th Biennial Southwest Symposium is “Pushing Boundaries.” In it, we hope to push geographic, theoretical, temporal, practical, and conceptual boundaries. In four invited paper sessions, the Symposium will explore 1) the formation and meaning of Bears Ears National Monument, 2) new research in chronology and chronometry, 3) Plains-Pueblo interactions, and 3) new developments in museum archaeology and collections-based research. http://southwestsymposium2018.dmns.org/

Celebrate International Archaeology Day – Albuquerque
Learn about New Mexico’s fascinating 12,000-year cultural heritage through hands-on activities and demonstrations during International Archaeology Day, Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Center for New Mexico Archaeology. Doors open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. to New Mexicans interested in digging deep into the past. http://bit.ly/2yqkYAp – Los Alamos Daily Post

Archaeology at the Alamo – A One-Day Exhibition
As the one-day “Archaeology at the Alamo” exhibit opened Thursday, archaeologists, local officials and curious Alamo fans leaned over glass cases lining the back of Alamo Hall, peering in to see artifacts from around the Alamo and as far away as La Villita that only professionals in the business of digging up treasures with a link to history have seen. The exception was a collection of artifacts in one glass case lined in blue fabric from the University of Texas San Antonio’s Center for Archaeology Research, full of things that UTSA students and campus visitors get to see when they participate in outreach classes at CAR. http://bit.ly/2xHqVWi – San Antonio Express News

Acoustic Art Coming to Downtown Chaco
The Artist has arrived! New York-based composer and multimedia artist, Grant Culter, concentrates his artistic focus in sensory experiences as Chaco Canyon National Historical Park’s newest Artist-in-Residence. The program is offered as the collaboration between the National Park Service and non-profit organization, National Parks Arts Foundation. There will be a free presentation and field-recording workshop offered to the public on October 28th. Culter will be hosting the event, where he looks forward to assisting guests with soundtracking the distinctive auditory ambiance of the park. “In facilitating recordings, and the act of listening to sounds around them amplified in headphones, I hope to present to others a new tool with which to engage with the richness of this environment…” Said the artist, regarding his intended outcome of the workshop. The artist will also be leading discussions regarding his artistic process and productive experience at the Chaco Culture Visitor Center Auditorium. http://bit.ly/2xHsPWE – EIN Newsdesk

Historic Places Tour – Cottonwood AZ
The City of Cottonwood and the Cottonwood Historic Preservation Commission are hosting the 4th annual Cottonwood Historic Home & Building Tour Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The tour will include several diverse homes and buildings that are part of the foundation of Cottonwood’s commercial and agricultural community. Docents and exhibits will provide a history of the buildings and information about the people who lived and worked there. http://bit.ly/2xHxAjf – Camp Verde Bugle